Super Nova (17 page)

Her stream of talk—well, shrieking really—only turned him on more. So what if the rest of the garage could hear her begging? The possibility only fired him up.

Maybe one day the Hot Rods would see this in person.

Help him escort her beyond her limits, grant her boundless pleasure. The thought had him high on her. And every bit of arousal that increased in him snuffed more of the fury. It’d always been that way. Except he’d never been this excited before, this attracted to someone.

Nola’s capacity for smothering his rage seemed infinite.

His anger was no match for her passion.

Fuck yes. His hands drifted from her neck to her shoulders then downward to her hips. He gripped her tight and drove into her again and again. Soon they were both grunting. Her knees had to ache from the concrete floor—his certainly did—and yet she met him pound for pound, impaling herself on his straining cock as vigorously as he slid it into her.

Would she hate him later for not being suave?

Especially their first time, he’d wanted to be…not this person.

“Don’t stop now. Need it. Been dying for this. Quit thinking and fuck me.” She reached behind her and yanked at him. Hauled off and sank her nails into his bulging forearm.

Without conscious thought, he made a similar declaration, nipping her neck even as he cupped her lush breast in one hand and used it to anchor them while he rode her.

It wouldn’t be some long, drawn-out affair. Not this time around.

He’d make it up to her later. He promised them both silently as he tunneled in and out of her silky sheath. Nola’s flesh gloved him.

Kaige didn’t need to worry. When he gave in to the urge to pinch the nipple poking his palm, Nola shuddered in his arms. She quaked around him and came in a climax so epic the undulation of her pussy tugged him along with her into orgasm.

They might have tried to be quiet, but their cries of completion echoed off the nonporous surfaces of the storeroom. Together, they crashed to the floor, laid full out, with him attempting to keep from crushing her by supporting himself on quivering arms.

At the moment, he couldn’t say he gave a flying fuck about their vocal performance. Though maybe Nola wouldn’t want the whole world to know she’d let him screw her in a glorified closet.

Doubts began to erase his satisfaction.

Until she rotated in his hold, coming to rest face up beneath him. The sleepy kitten look on her face went a long way toward reassuring him that he hadn’t totally ruined his chance for a decent first impression. Damn if he didn’t hope to do this again soon.

“Are you okay?” He traced a purple mark on her collarbone. Unlike Sally’s porcelain skin, it’d take a fair bit to show on Nola’s shaded complexion. Had he gone too far after all?

“Amazing. The things your piercing does in that position should be illegal.” She moaned then drew his hand to her mouth and kissed his fingers.

“I didn’t hurt you?”

“Hell no.” Nola licked her lips.

“Totally freak you out?”

“Only if you count being completely caught off guard by how great that was. I’ve never come so hard in my life.” She hummed as an aftershock racked her body.

“Are you su—”

“Kaige, quit the fusspot act before I start to think you assume I’m weak.” The Nola he knew and adored surfaced. He could imagine her putting her hands on her hips over her rumpled dress, if she’d been able to move.

“You?” He laughed. “Never.”

“It’s my job to analyze situations and figure out root problems.” Nola sat against the cinderblock wall, toying with one of his dreads. Content to let her pet him, he merely nodded his agreement. Until she surprised him with her insight. “Every time I’ve seen you lose your temper, it’s because you think you’ve disappointed someone you love. Eli, Hot Rods…”

She didn’t name herself from the debacle that had interrupted their date and shown his true colors, but Kaige would have in her place.

Would she freak at such a bold proclamation? Because lovers or not, he knew she’d earned a place in his life that wasn’t temporary.

“I think when you admit that letting people down is the thing that scares you most, it won’t have the power to send you into this frenzy anymore.” She didn’t give him time to object. “Don’t you trust your friends to love you unconditionally? Don’t you believe that you deserve them?”

“Uh—” Maybe some part of him worried that if he fucked up they’d disown him. Even after so long together. He tried to sit straighter, but Nola kept him pinned to her with her deceptively strong arms. His cock twitched despite the way she’d wrung him dry not five minutes ago.

“Everyone fucks up, Kaige.” She squeezed him tight. “No one’s perfect. Hell, Rebel has that bug up his ass about rich people. He’s reverse classist and pretty rude about his prejudice. Honestly, I have no idea how he manages to hide it when he works customer service. But you guys still accept him, including his faults.”

“You like him too.” Kaige was quick to defend his friend, proving her point he supposed. “If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have let him keep Buster McHightops.”

“True.” Nola smiled down at him. “I think he’s adorable. A big, sweet lug. Even more so now that he’s got that puppy following on his heels.”

This time Kaige couldn’t keep his boner down. Because an image of Nola sandwiched between him and his best friend flashed into his mind. What if she was down with sharing?

No way, she’d never…

Would she?

A loud bang on the door startled them both. Nola yanked the skirt of her sundress down, covering her perfect thighs, now enhanced with several love bites he hardly remembered administering before he’d mounted her.

Kaige cursed as he levered himself to his feet. He drew on his jumpsuit, hopping from one foot to the other and barely closing the zipper before cracking the door.

“Wanted to make sure you two hadn’t killed each other.” Mustang Sally peeped through the gap, swiping paint speckles from her fingernails. Her wide eyes took in Nola’s disheveled state. “From my studio, it sounded like two wounded animals fighting in here. The fact that I could hear you over the compressor is pretty impressive.”

Instead of shying away, Nola came to the door, opening it completely. “Thanks, Sally. I’m fine.
Reeeeeeeeally
fantastic in fact.”

The women high-fived each other, then hugged.

“You’re good for our Super Nova. Yeah, you are.” Mustang Sally whispered, “Thank you.”

“How do you feel about telling your future husband that we’re taking the rest of the afternoon off?” Kaige wasn’t about to let what had happened slip away. He needed to talk to Nola. In private.

Despite being afraid, maybe it was time to come clean about the extent of the Hot Rods’ relationship. Losing her now would be easier than getting dumped in a few months when he could no longer hide the bond the gang of mechanics shared. It would come out sooner or later.

She wouldn’t appreciate being lied to.

Or cheated on. Because they weren’t just fucking around anymore.

But keeping his hands off the Hot Rods was killing him too. The ruckus echoing down the hall from their common area at night nearly had him howling at the moon. He felt stuck, not fully making anyone happy—Nola or the gang.

Flickers of irritation prickled the nape of his neck. Maybe Nola was right about that. Because right now he felt like he was disappointing everyone.

Himself included.

“I’ll cover for you.” Sally winked. “If I do it right, he won’t even notice you’re gone.”

“I owe you.” He kissed Mustang’s forehead, then hauled Nola to his car.

Though he thought they might talk and get around to trying sex again, except a variety more mellow this time, they actually ended up taking a nap together. Snuggled in his car, they parked in a field of wildflowers overlooking Middletown and enjoyed the peace and quiet. Neither one of them seemed ready to shatter the closeness they’d established.

Right when he blinked open his eyes and cleared his throat, Nova was jabbed by Nola’s buzzing phone. It was Amber ranting about a snafu she needed assistance resolving.

And just like that, his last chance to settle things before the wedding vanished.

Chapter Nine

The big day had arrived.

Two weeks of drama was plenty for Nova. He pitied men who had to endure a year plus of that bullshit before making things official with the girl of their dreams. If it was ever his turn to march down the aisle, he’d beg for something simple. Maybe a destination wedding. A beach, or a mountain retreat with just him, his woman and their closest family and friends.

In reality, Mustang
had
kept things relatively sane. Until today.

Kaige leaned his hip against the bar of the kitchen where girly shit like cosmetics in a zillion different shades of pink were strewn. He couldn’t believe the vision in front of him. Mustang Sally was swaddled in a dress fit for a princess. Rose-colored silk hugged her curves up top then dipped in to her waist, which looked tiny, before flaring to a skirt big enough to hide the entire Hot Rods gang beneath, Buster McHightops included.

It had some kind of crumply look to it like someone had wadded up a ball of paper then made a half-assed effort to smooth it out. Flashes of light danced from crystals sewn in the fabric. It was one of the prettiest things he’d ever seen. A work of art in its own right.

Panicked, Sally didn’t match the serene flow of soft fabric. She’d called Nova and begged him to bring Nola upstairs to rectify some crisis he couldn’t comprehend through her hiccupping sobs. His heart had dropped as he imagined her needing emergency surgery or something equally dire when actually she’d flipped out about her freaking makeup.

Who was this woman?

“You look beautiful, Sal.” Kaige didn’t have to lie. She really was stunning. While he’d always appreciated her natural features, she’d done a bang-up job highlighting her assets with subtle yet elegant applications of her own brand of flair. Colorful tattoos and her piercings added enough of her usual badassness to make him relatively certain this wasn’t some alien replacement of the girl he’d known most of his life.

“But it’s got to be
perfect
today.” She balled her fists. “I can’t get my liner straight because my damn hands are shaking.”

“No worries.” Nola stepped in, pressing one finger to her plump lips behind Mustang’s back, bidding Kaige to bite his tongue. “Let me help. This’ll only take a second.”

“Thank you.” The bride hugged Nola, worrying her lip as she asked, “How are things going outside? Your sister doesn’t need you right now, does she?”

“Nola’s my guest, not hired help.” Kaige felt it necessary to remind the three of them that he and the consultant were here as a couple today. Something about the ceremony and the atmosphere had him feeling oddly possessive. Hopeful.

“Oh, shush. I’d lend a hand if there were any loose ends. But there’s no need. My sis is a pro. Besides, she brought in someone far more competent than me to help her wrangle people. Our mom is out there keeping her eye on things too.” Nola surprised them both with that news.

“I’d love to meet her.” Kaige was curious about Nola’s family. He’d bumped into Amber earlier. The woman had sized him up pretty good with a laser-beam glare before nodding and extending her hand for a firm shake.

How much had Nola shared about the past two weeks?

“Oh, you will.” She laughed, flashing her straight, white teeth. “Pretty sure my mom’s not going to be able to resist asking you twenty questions before the day is done. Hope you don’t mind.”

“Nope, I don’t.” He grinned. “Might as well be introduced the only time I’m wearing something halfway decent. Make a good impression, I hope.”

Why was his stomach suddenly doing flip-flops? Charming a woman—or her mother—had never been very difficult for him.

Sally had her head cocked, staring at the two of them. What did she see?

Kaige glanced away.

“So…yeah…” Nola picked up their earlier conversation in an attempt to reassure Sally. “Everything’s set and ready. The flowers look unbelievable, the tent is pitched with the extra rain flaps you ordered tied up—doesn’t look like you’ll need them, it’s sunny with blue sky and fluffy white clouds—the caterers are in full swing and your out-of-town guests are already settled in the front rows, heckling your grooms.”

“I bet they look so handsome.” Mustang blinked rapidly.

“Of course.” Nola beamed. “You’re one lucky bitch. Now don’t go messing up my hard work here. You can cry later, though I’m positive you’ll have no reason for sad tears. Want me to put some touch-up supplies in my purse in case you need them down there?”

“Would you mind?” Sally peeked up at Nola with enormous eyes. Kaige could have kissed their miracle worker. “That would be amazing. You did a great job. Sorry I kind of lost it there for a second.”

“No problem.” Nola tucked the cosmetics in her beaded clutch. “It’s an important day. I get that. All I did was draw a teensy hot pink, glittery line. Kaige was right, you’re beautiful on your own. Seriously, you look dazzling.”

“You both do.” Kaige cleared his throat as he approached, the threat of a thermonuclear meltdown seemingly avoided. His gaze raked Nola from her ample cleavage, tucked behind the beaded fringe of her cappuccino-colored dress, to the spikes of her sophisticated yet sexy-as-sin shoes.